[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Mon Feb 1, 2010 5:57am EST
Stock futures signal gains on Wall Street
(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.42 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.53 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.36 percent at 5 a.m. EST.
On the macro front, investors awaited U.S. data for personal income and construction spending as well as the Institute for Supply Management's January manufacturing index, while on the earning front, ExxonMobil Corp features among the companies due to report quarterly results.
Investors also awaited the White House's budget for fiscal 2011, which begins on October 1. President Barack Obama will seek to strike a balance between taming skyrocketing U.S. budget deficits and giving the economy a boost to ease the pain of double-digit unemployment.
A congressional source told Reuters that the White House would project a record $1.6 trillion budget deficit in the current 2010 fiscal year that ends September 30. That's an increase from the $1.4 trillion gap posted in 2009.
The new president of Japan Airlines Corp said the bankrupt carrier has not yet decided whether to stick with partner American Airlines or defect to Delta Air Lines and its SkyTeam group.
Oil was little changed on Monday, trading close to six-week lows amid concerns about global growth and sluggish oil demand, while the euro edged up against the dollar, recovering slightly from recent losses, but continued to hover close to seven-month lows, dented by concerns over the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.
China's manufacturing powered ahead in January, providing more evidence of its robust economic health to markets fretting about Beijing's policy tightening and the dire state of government finances around the world.
Shares in UBS fell 1.1 percent after the Swiss justice minister said the economy would suffer if the Swiss bank collapsed as a result of its unresolved U.S. tax dispute.
Japan's Nikkei average finished flat on Monday as investors picked up shares of companies that reported bullish earnings, while shares of Toyota Motor Corp, which had fallen almost 14 percent in the past week on its recall woes, slipped 1.2 percent.
European stocks dipped in early trade, led lower by energy shares such as Total and BP, while media major Vivendi sank after a U.S. jury found the company liable for potentially billions of dollars in damages because it misled investors about its financial condition before a $46 billion merger nearly 10 years ago.
U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, as worries about fiscal turmoil in Europe and a drop in technology stocks pushed the S&P 500 to its worst monthly decline since February 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 53.13 points, or 0.52 percent, to 10,067.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 10.66 points, or 0.98 percent, to 1,073.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.65 points, or 1.45 percent, to 2,147.35.
The recent sell-off has seen the S&P 500 tumble 6.7 percent in the last eight trading sessions.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)
[Green Business]
Jan Harvey
LONDON
Mon Feb 1, 2010 5:39am EST
Gold rises above $1,080 as dollar falters
LONDON (Reuters) - Gold firmed in Europe on Monday as the dollar turned lower versus the euro, boosting interest in the precious metal as an alternative asset, and helping it buck the downward trend in other commodities like oil and copper.
Prices remain vulnerable to further losses however after declining 1.6 percent in January, analysts said, with the dollar's upward trend expected to resume.
Spot gold was bid at $1,083.15 an ounce at 1009 GMT (5:09 a.m. EST), against $1,079.20 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.00 to $1,084.00 an ounce.
"Gold has done relatively well, looking at what has been happening in other commodities," said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup. "The dollar has been strong, and gold was always going to struggle on the basis of that."
"It is difficult to see the dollar weakening further," he said. "People have definitely been seeking out gold as a currency hedge, and if that hedge is no longer needed, that is going to cap some of the demand for gold."
The dollar edged lower versus the euro on Monday, but the single currency continued to hover close to seven-month lows amid concerns over the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.
The dollar steadied but stayed close to a six-month high versus a currency basket after Friday's stronger-than-forecast gross domestic product data suggested the United States is recovering faster than the euro zone and Japan.
Weakness in the U.S. unit boosts gold's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Among other commodities, oil steadied but traded close to six-week lows amid fresh concerns over the outlook for global growth. Industrial metals were under pressure meanwhile from expectations China may tighten monetary policy.
Gold tends to track crude prices, as the metal can be bought as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
ETF HOLDINGS DECLINE
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust were unchanged on Friday, but down 21.7 tonnes or 1.9 percent in January.
Holdings of the biggest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust, also declined 1.1 percent or 107.99 tonnes last month. Analysts said outflows from precious metals ETFs could undermine prices if they persist.
In India, historically the world's biggest gold consumer, demand for the metal abated on Monday as the rupee weakened versus the dollar after buying picked up in January when traders stocked in anticipation of wedding demand.
Analysts said with consumption weak, gold prices were looking vulnerable to a further correction if the dollar strengthened further.
"Speculators and retail investors are still reluctant to re-enter the market, having booked profits during the latest correction," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov. "The market was barely clinging to key support above $1,082/1,080."
"However a stronger dollar from here could well push gold prices back toward $1,060, with our worst case scenario still suggesting losses to $1,026," he added.
Among other precious metals, silver was at $16.26 an ounce against $16.16. Platinum was at $1,514 an ounce versus $1,500, while palladium was flat at $413.
Holdings of ETF Securities' U.S.-based platinum exchange-traded fund (PPLT.P) rose just over 30,000 ounces or 14 percent on Friday, the company said.
"The launch of physically backed ETFs in the U.S. saw record inflows into both platinum and palladium last month with approximately 192,000 ounces of platinum and 340,000 ounces of palladium added," said TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore.
(Editing by James Jukwey)
[Green Business]
Mon Feb 1, 2010 5:57am EST
Stock futures signal gains on Wall Street
(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.42 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.53 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.36 percent at 5 a.m. EST.
On the macro front, investors awaited U.S. data for personal income and construction spending as well as the Institute for Supply Management's January manufacturing index, while on the earning front, ExxonMobil Corp features among the companies due to report quarterly results.
Investors also awaited the White House's budget for fiscal 2011, which begins on October 1. President Barack Obama will seek to strike a balance between taming skyrocketing U.S. budget deficits and giving the economy a boost to ease the pain of double-digit unemployment.
A congressional source told Reuters that the White House would project a record $1.6 trillion budget deficit in the current 2010 fiscal year that ends September 30. That's an increase from the $1.4 trillion gap posted in 2009.
The new president of Japan Airlines Corp said the bankrupt carrier has not yet decided whether to stick with partner American Airlines or defect to Delta Air Lines and its SkyTeam group.
Oil was little changed on Monday, trading close to six-week lows amid concerns about global growth and sluggish oil demand, while the euro edged up against the dollar, recovering slightly from recent losses, but continued to hover close to seven-month lows, dented by concerns over the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.
China's manufacturing powered ahead in January, providing more evidence of its robust economic health to markets fretting about Beijing's policy tightening and the dire state of government finances around the world.
Shares in UBS fell 1.1 percent after the Swiss justice minister said the economy would suffer if the Swiss bank collapsed as a result of its unresolved U.S. tax dispute.
Japan's Nikkei average finished flat on Monday as investors picked up shares of companies that reported bullish earnings, while shares of Toyota Motor Corp, which had fallen almost 14 percent in the past week on its recall woes, slipped 1.2 percent.
European stocks dipped in early trade, led lower by energy shares such as Total and BP, while media major Vivendi sank after a U.S. jury found the company liable for potentially billions of dollars in damages because it misled investors about its financial condition before a $46 billion merger nearly 10 years ago.
U.S. stocks dropped on Friday, as worries about fiscal turmoil in Europe and a drop in technology stocks pushed the S&P 500 to its worst monthly decline since February 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 53.13 points, or 0.52 percent, to 10,067.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 10.66 points, or 0.98 percent, to 1,073.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.65 points, or 1.45 percent, to 2,147.35.
The recent sell-off has seen the S&P 500 tumble 6.7 percent in the last eight trading sessions.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)
[Green Business]
Jan Harvey
LONDON
Mon Feb 1, 2010 5:39am EST
Gold rises above $1,080 as dollar falters
LONDON (Reuters) - Gold firmed in Europe on Monday as the dollar turned lower versus the euro, boosting interest in the precious metal as an alternative asset, and helping it buck the downward trend in other commodities like oil and copper.
Prices remain vulnerable to further losses however after declining 1.6 percent in January, analysts said, with the dollar's upward trend expected to resume.
Spot gold was bid at $1,083.15 an ounce at 1009 GMT (5:09 a.m. EST), against $1,079.20 late in New York on Friday. U.S. gold futures for February delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.00 to $1,084.00 an ounce.
"Gold has done relatively well, looking at what has been happening in other commodities," said David Thurtell, an analyst at Citigroup. "The dollar has been strong, and gold was always going to struggle on the basis of that."
"It is difficult to see the dollar weakening further," he said. "People have definitely been seeking out gold as a currency hedge, and if that hedge is no longer needed, that is going to cap some of the demand for gold."
The dollar edged lower versus the euro on Monday, but the single currency continued to hover close to seven-month lows amid concerns over the fiscal health of some euro zone countries.
The dollar steadied but stayed close to a six-month high versus a currency basket after Friday's stronger-than-forecast gross domestic product data suggested the United States is recovering faster than the euro zone and Japan.
Weakness in the U.S. unit boosts gold's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
Among other commodities, oil steadied but traded close to six-week lows amid fresh concerns over the outlook for global growth. Industrial metals were under pressure meanwhile from expectations China may tighten monetary policy.
Gold tends to track crude prices, as the metal can be bought as a hedge against oil-led inflation.
ETF HOLDINGS DECLINE
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust were unchanged on Friday, but down 21.7 tonnes or 1.9 percent in January.
Holdings of the biggest silver ETF, the iShares Silver Trust, also declined 1.1 percent or 107.99 tonnes last month. Analysts said outflows from precious metals ETFs could undermine prices if they persist.
In India, historically the world's biggest gold consumer, demand for the metal abated on Monday as the rupee weakened versus the dollar after buying picked up in January when traders stocked in anticipation of wedding demand.
Analysts said with consumption weak, gold prices were looking vulnerable to a further correction if the dollar strengthened further.
"Speculators and retail investors are still reluctant to re-enter the market, having booked profits during the latest correction," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov. "The market was barely clinging to key support above $1,082/1,080."
"However a stronger dollar from here could well push gold prices back toward $1,060, with our worst case scenario still suggesting losses to $1,026," he added.
Among other precious metals, silver was at $16.26 an ounce against $16.16. Platinum was at $1,514 an ounce versus $1,500, while palladium was flat at $413.
Holdings of ETF Securities' U.S.-based platinum exchange-traded fund (PPLT.P) rose just over 30,000 ounces or 14 percent on Friday, the company said.
"The launch of physically backed ETFs in the U.S. saw record inflows into both platinum and palladium last month with approximately 192,000 ounces of platinum and 340,000 ounces of palladium added," said TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore.
(Editing by James Jukwey)
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